B.C. pilot delivers pizzas by plane at Burning Man
A Vancouver Island man became a festival legend after he delivered a stack of pizzas to festivalgoers attending Burning Man in Nevada's Black Rock Desert this summer.
"I had some people say I 'won Burning Man' for this, if that's even possible," Brandon Baker told CTV News.
Anything is possible at the nine-day festival, known for its boundless creativity and giant mechanical art pieces in the middle of nowhere.
You often hear tales of dusty debauchery and drugs from festivalgoers, but that's not Baker's story.
"I was very clear on the, 'I won't be trying any substances while down there,'" he said.
Baker is an engineer and a pilot, and along with a clear head he packed his pilot's licence and log book for the trip.
About a week into the trip he met some other pilots and one of them had intriguing news.
"One guy even has a plane down here," Baker recalled.
After receiving a reference letter from the Victoria Flying Club, Baker busied himself treating Burners to a bird's eye view of the festival.
The Burning Man festival is pictured by plane. (Submitted)
"People love it because they get to see Burning Man from the air," he said.
But those aren't even the heroics he became known for.
PIZZA DELIVERY
You don't go to Burning Man to eat and there's very few options around. But Baker had a pie in the sky idea.
"Maybe we should order pizza and bring it back to Burning Man," he said.
The ultimate party pizza run included a 35-kilometre flight to the town of Lovelock, Nev.
"The airport code to the southern town is L-O-L," said Baker.
It was a laugh out loud response from the pizza joint, which normally doesn’t deliver to the airport.
"They said, 'I think we could make an exception for that,'" said Baker.
It was precious cargo, and like a mirage in the desert, Baker delivered.
It wasn't exactly pretty, though.
"It barley fit through the cargo door," he explained. "We had 10 pizzas stacked on top of a bike on top of a guy on crutches."
The pizzas arrive at Burning Man. (Submitted)
But never before was a slice of pepperoni so well earned. As for the taste?
"The truth is, I don't remember how the pizza tasted," Baker admitted.
But looking back now, it doesn't really matter. What mattered was the journey.
The pizzas arrive at Burning Man. (Submitted)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.